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The all-new R8 takes Audi into territory it’s never been before – somewhere between Porsche and Ferrari. It’s a bold move, and one that not even bigger, more experienced rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW have managed to achieve successfully, despite a number of serious attempts with cars like the McLaren SLR and M1. So what makes Audi think it can do it?

The answer, in part, is dramatic design and advanced technology. The R8’s cab-forward stance, aggressive graphics, taut surfacing, and jewel-like detailing are a thoroughly contemporary take on the sports car theme that make both the Porsche 911 and Ferrari’s F430 look old fashioned. Under the skin is an aluminum space frame, a mid-mounted 4.2-liter V-8 that delivers 100hp-per-liter without supercharging, all-wheel drive, and sophisticated aerodynamics. This car was the pet project of former Audi boss Martin Winterkorn – newly promoted to head of the entire VW Group – and it shows.

Slide in behind the wheel and the R8 is at once surprising and familiar. The familiar stuff is all the Audi hardware – instruments, switchgear, even the MMI user-interface system – lifted from the sedans. The interior design is unique to R8 and driver-focused, but it’s as beautifully finished and tightly assembled as that of an A8. The surprising stuff is how roomy the cabin feels – the seats slide waaay back, there’s enough headroom for an NBA player, and you can even store a couple of golf bags on the shelf behind the seats – and how good the all-round visibility is for a mid-engined car.

Twist the key, and the 420hp V-8 – fundamentally the same engine as used in the RS4, though with a dry-sump to get it lower in the car and cope better with high-G cornering – booms into life behind your shoulder blades. It sounds cammier, more mechanical than in the RS4, mainly because there’s less sound deadening around it.

Two six speed transmissions will be available for the R8 when it goes on sale here in the U.S. later this year, both shared with the R8’s close cousin, Lamborghini‘s Gallardo. Local Audi execs predict 50 to 70 percent of U.S. R8 buyers will choose the automated manual (an updated version of the Lambo’s E-gear system called R tronic) over the regular version (which has the same metallic gate as the Gallardo). If you’re smart, though, you’ll choose to be in the minority – although improved, R tronic is nowhere near as crisp and responsive as Ferrari’s F1 automatic manual, and nowhere near as smooth and refined as VW Group’s own twin-clutch DSG (which is only available with transverse-mounted engines for now).

Run the R8 through the gears and the V-8 spins right to its 8250rpm redline with a velveteen growl and an elastic surge of thrust that will get you to 60mph in a tick over four seconds. Some 90 percent of the engine’s peak torque of 317lb-ft is available between 3500 and 7500rpm, which is good news because you don’t need to be constantly muscling the somewhat deliberate shifter to keep the R8 on the boil.

In fact, the overwhelming first impression of the R8 is just how effortless it is to drive. The ride is excellent for mid-engine sports car on low profile tires (our tester had the optional 19 inch rims fitted with 235/35ZR19 Pirelli P Zeros up front and 295/30ZR19 boots at the rear; standard wheel is an 18 inch item). On cars with the optional magnetic ride shocks there seemed little difference in the ride quality between the standard and the sport settings, although the car turned in harder and rolled less in sport mode.

The R8 shares its basic layout, aluminum space frame construction, and a number of components with the Lamborghini Gallardo. But it’s a very different car, and not just because of a wheelbase that’s 3.5 inches longer than the Lambo’s. Front suspension is similar, but at the rear is a new toe-control link promotes rear wheel toe-in during hard cornering to improve stability. The R8 also has much more wheel travel than the Gallardo, and is more softly sprung and damped. Front to rear weight distribution is identical at 44/56 percent, making the R8 the most rear-biased Audi in modern history, a trait amplified by the variable torque split, which funnels as little as 15 percent and no more than 35 percent of the traction action to the front wheels.

On the race track the R8 will understeer through the turns until you lift off the gas, when the tail will come around. It’s not a white-knuckle snap, but a smooth, clearly telegraphed transition that’s easy to predict. With the traction control disabled (which automatically lifts the intervention threshold of the stability control) the R8 will drift gently through the turn in a beautifully predictable slide. To get really sideways you need to switch off the stability control altogether, but in truth you’ll be a lot slower around the track.

Audi engineers say they wanted the limits of the R8’s chassis to be more approachable than those normally associated with a mid-engined supercar, or the tail heavy {{{Porsche 911}}}. “It starts to rotate [from understeer to oversteer] earlier than a 911,” admitted one, “but it’s much more controllable.” It certainly feels very confidence inspiring, and there’s little evidence to suggest the R8’s ultimate dynamic ability has been compromised much – Audi sources claim that with a lap time of 7min 55sec, the R8 is only 11 seconds slower around the legendary 14 mile Nurburgring Nordschliefe than the {{{Lamborghini Gallardo}}}, which of course has 100hp more.

In terms of ride, stability and agility, then, the R8 is truly impressive. It stops well, too, thanks to the vented and cross-drilled disc brakes all round. Audi offers ceramic brakes as an option. The front rotors are a massive 15 inches in diameter, are clamped by eight piston calipers, and can be dynamited lap after lap without inducing the merest hint of fade. The ceramics are overkill for the street, though, and difficult to modulate smoothly, especially around town. And at about $10,000, they’re not cheap.

The R8’s biggest dynamic weakness is its video-game steering, which just doesn’t have the clarity of an F430 or the tactility of a 911, even an all-wheel drive Carrera 4. The steering is accurate, but there’s little feel or feedback through the helm; little sense that you’re intimately connected to what’s going on at the front of the car. The corollary of this, of course, is the R8 is very relaxing on the freeway.

Final pricing has yet to be determined, but it’s expected the R8 will retail for $110,000 to $120,000. That puts it in well-specced 911 Carrera 4S or base 911 Turbo territory, but well under F430 and Gallardo. It needs better steering, and a DSG transmission, but overall the R8 is an intriguing ride. It’s not as raw as the 911, nor as surgical as the F430; if anything, it comes across as a mid-engine GT you can use 24/7 like a Porsche, with a user-friendliness that recalls an Acura NSX.

2008 AUDI R8

Base price

$110,000-$120,000 (MT est)

Vehicle layout

Mid-engine, AWD, 2-pass, 2-door coupe

Engine

4.2L/420hp/317lb-ft direct-injection DOHC 32-valve V-8

Transmission

6-speed manual and automated manual

0-60 mph

4.1sec (MT est)

Top speed

187mph (Mfr est)

THE FRAME

The R8 uses the latest iteration of the aluminum space frame technology Audi has been developing since the 1990s. The load bearing structure consists of extruded aluminum sections linked by pressure-cast aluminum nodular joints. Aluminum panels are incorporated to add rigidity. The complete body features 325 ft of seam welds, 308 self-tapping screws, 782 rivets, and weighs just over 460 lb.

THE UNDERTRAY

Audi has paid a lot of attention to optimizing the R8’s aerodynamics. The fully enclosed undertray features race-car style diffusers ahead of the front and rear wheels, and at the rear of the car that work in conjunction with a rear spoiler that deploys at speed to generate downforce. The NACA duct between the front wheels is to cool the front differential; the one in the middle of the car is for cooling the fuel tank; and the three at the rear of the car are for engine compartment cooling.

THE ENGINE

The 4.2-liter V-8 develops 420 horsepower and will rev to 8250 rpm. At 90 percent of its 317 lb-ft of maximum torque is available between 3500 and 7500 rpm. Audi’s FSI direct injection system allows a 12.5:1 compression ratio, and a dry sump system allows the engine to be located lower in the frame, lowering the overall center of gravity.

THE SUSPENSION

The engine is slightly offset from the centerline of the car to allow driveshaft to exit the transmission and run forward to the front differential. Suspension is double wishbone all-round, similar to the Lamborghini Gallardo, but with the addition of a toe-control link to improve stability during cornering.

THE BRAKES

Optional ceramic brake package features 15 inch front rotors with six piston calipers. The discs are made from silicon carbide embedded with high-strength carbon fibers. Audi claims the ceramic system saves almost 10lb in unsprung weight, and that the rotors will last up to 186,000 miles. Likely cost for the U.S. would be about $10,000.

THE LIGHTS

The 12 bright white LED running lights give the R8 a unique “light signature” at night and surround LED headlights that are a world first for a production car, using a total of 22 light emitting diodes arranged in seven groups of two or four and projecting their light via a complex array of reflectors and lenses.

THE PLANT

The R8 will be built at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant in Germany, which specializes in the production of aluminum space frame vehicles. Output is just 22 vehicles a day, and total production will be limited to about 4000 vehicles a year. There are 5196 parts in the R8, and many arrive pre-assembled, including the engine, which is built in Audi’s plant in Gyor, Hungary.

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2008 Audi R8 News and Reviews

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